BEREA, OHIO . – The Baldwin Wallace University men's swimming and diving team was defeated by Ohio Northern University in the final home Ohio Athletic Conference dual meet by a final score of 128-103 in the BW Natatorium inside the Lou Higgins Center.
BW (2-5, 1-2 OAC) was led by junior stroker Michael Morsch (Phoenix, Ariz./Notre Dame Preparatory) and freshman diver Zachary Pierce (Spring, Texas/Klein Collins) as the duo each won a pair of events.
Morsch won the 200-yard freestyle in a career-best time of 1:51.08 and the 100-yard backstroke in a time 55.01 seconds. Pierce won the 1-meter six-dive event with a total of 237.60 and the 1-meter five-dive event with a career-best total of 223.0 points.
Also earning a victory was senior All-OAC performer Greg Shaw (Colorado Springs, Colo./Manitou Springs) as he captured the 100-yard butterfly in a time of 54.14 seconds.
In addition, senior All-OAC diver Evan Rinaldi (Cleveland/Cleveland Heights) placed second in the 1-meter and six-dive event with a total of 198.80 and the 1-meter five-dive event with 156.80 points. Junior Academic All-OAC performer Matthew Butt (Westfield Center/Cloverleaf) took second in the 100-yard freestyle in a time of 50.55. Sophomore All-OAC performer Michael Lewis (Lancaster) finished second in the 400-yard individual medley in a time of 4:27.06 and the 100-yard breaststroke in a time of 59.96 . Freshman stroker Austin Olsavsky (Medina) was the runner-up in the 1000-yard freestyle in a career-best time of 10:50.49.
In relay action, the 200-yard medley team of Morsch, Lewis, Shaw and Butt won in a BW Natatorium-record time of 1:39.36.
The Yellow Jackets return to action on Saturday, January 18 when they travel to University Heights for their OAC dual finale against crosstown rival John Carroll University in the William H. Johnson Natatorium inside the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center at 1 p.m. BW closes out the home portion of its schedule when it hosts a non-conference and Seniors' Day dual meet against the College of Wooster at 1 p.m.
The Yellow Jackets host the three-day Ohio Athletic Conference Championships on Thursday-Saturday, February 13-15 at the Ocasek Natatorium on the campus of the University of Akron. Preliminary action begins each day at 10 a.m. with finals to be held each night at 6 p.m.
